Has anybody else heard about this service cancellation? Comments are open until May 31st on this subject. Canned message on this follows: ------------------------------------- NOAA Seeks Comments on Discontinuing WWV-WWVH North Atlantic and North Pacific Marine Storm Warnings: NOAA is considering ending the North Atlantic and North Pacific marine storm warning announcements at minutes 8, 9, and 10 for WWV, and at minutes 48, 49, 50, and 51 for WWVH. Termination would be on October 1, 2017. NOAA wants to hear from as many interested parties as possible. Comments need to be received by NOAA by May 31. Send all comments or issues concerning this proposed action via e-mail with “MARINE WARNING” in the subject line. WWV and WWVH are services of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). ------------------------------- I have to assume the e-mail is to be addressed to NOAA, but, I did not copy the address off of WWV and that is the only place I have seen (heard?) the full e-mail address mentioned. Jim
!! UPDATE !! From this website (the address is mentioned in a video I will post in a bit): https://www.nist.gov/pml/time-and-frequency-division/radio-stations/wwv - - - - - - - - - - - - NOTICE: THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE ATLANTIC AND PACIFIC HIGH SEAS AND STORM WARNING ANNOUNCEMENTS AS BROADCAST ON WWV AND WWVH ARE SCHEDULED TO BE DISCONTINUED ON OCTOBER 1, 2017. QUESTIONS, COMMENTS OR ISSUES CONCERNING THIS ACTION SHOULD BE EMAILED TO NWWS.ISSUES@NOAA.GOV (LINK SENDS E-MAIL) NO LATER THAN MAY 31, 2017, WITH THE WORDS "MARINE WARNING" IN THE SUBJECT LINE. - - - - - - - - - - - - Reiterating: -- The e-mail address is: NWWS.ISSUES@NOAA.GOV -- PUT THE WORDS "MARINE WARNING" IN THE SUBJECT LINE. -- NO LATER THAN MAY 31, 2017, Jim - - - - - - - - - - - - Video added: (If blank it is still in the process of uploading)
Nothing new about this proposal. They went through this process first several years ago. Considering every ship has GPS now, I doubt very few ships at sea listen to WWV for time hacks.
Ummm ... "Time Hacks?" How about a "backup" for storm warnings on the high seas sans an internet connection? Many "hams" and maybe seamen (below the rank of FO) alike may be unfamiliar with this service that has been provided through the government-owned radio station (ON multiple HF and one MW frequency) we know as WWV (and WWVH) = - STRAIGHT from the NIST/WWV website: - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Marine Storm Warnings Marine storm warnings are broadcast for the Atlantic and Pacific oceans and the Gulf of Mexico. The National Weather Service provides the storm warning information. Atlantic highseas warnings are broadcast by WWV at 8 and 9 minutes after the hour, and a Pacific highseas warning is broadcast at 10 minutes after the hour. WWVH broadcasts a Pacific highseas warning at 48, 49, 50 and 51 minutes after the hour. Additional segments (at 11 minutes after the hour on WWV and at 52 minutes after the hour on WWVH) are used if there are unusually widespread storm conditions. The brief voice messages warn mariners of storm threats present in their areas. The storm warnings are based on the most recent forecasts. The forecasts are updated at 0500, 1100, 1700, and 2300 UTC for WWV; and at 0000, 0600, 1200, and 1800 UTC for WWVH. All marine forecasts rely heavily on the Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) program for obtaining meteorological observations. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - SO much of the time we only see the narrow little world view our own narrow experiences exposes us to. I never expect to solo pilot a sailing vessel across ANY ocean, but, there are those that do ... Jim
Jim, Well, you are supposing with inverted logic that WWV is a primary source for storm warnings. That is the entire purpose of this and previous RFC. Considering all the other sources for weather including INMARSAT Fax, Internet and Telecom, Satellite Fax, HF fax (still!), MF SITOR Bulletins, HF/VHF voice radio etc, it really seems unlikely that mariners are depending on WWV for weather. I do have a few years at sea, and more than a few hours listening to WWV. [adding] "Ummm ... "Time Hacks?" Yes, time hacks. Back in my younger days, WWV was critical to us mariners for accurate time for accurate navigation for our celestial star sightings with sextants. Every sailor was familiar with WWV. However, it has been several decades since celestial navigation was critical and I doubt there are few ships that ever make regular time checks on HF.
Whenever I listen to the voice updates on WWV, they tend to be undermodulated and distorted, even when the overall station is loud and strong. I wonder if the technology they are using to mix voice into the WWV transmitters is just getting old, and they hoping to not replace/update it? After all, there are a lot of other ways to get that information while at sea, and given that the sun is going QRP (or even QRT) for a few years, the value in the short term might not be that great. Those transmitters were designed and sited to provide time service to land receivers in the contiguous US and Hawaii. NOAA has other means to get weather alerts to ships at sea, and their HF weather transmitters are sited on shoreline to provide the best service to those vessels.
No, just no. The post was about the discontinuing of the MSW and little else. Thank you for your time. Jim
They are a LOT better than they were for awhile; they requested comments on this subject (audio quality and the like) a few year back and I gave them feedback at that time. Time being limited I'm going to limit my response on the other subjects. Jim
Yes, but it's not just ships that cross the oceans. There are many smaller sailboats out there. Some operate on very meager personal budgets. True, most of them may have some other means of getting the weather, but HF is simple, and redundancy can be a lifesaver.
